Sovereign Grace Baptist Church Meets weekly at 907 Hillsboro Boulevard, Manchester, TN, 37355. Currently, our church is without a pastor/elder and the members meet weekly for praise and worship in hymn, prayer, reading of Scripture, study of the word, and fellowship.
I was sent a link about Rick Warren's supposed monergistic theology by a friend. As I followed up on the trail to my astonishment I find out that John piper, famed 7 point Calvinist, has asked Rick Warren to speak at his conference. Not only has this been confirmed and is absolutely not an "April Fool's Joke," Piper also announces in a twelve minute video snippet why he has done so. The rationale is altogether clear. Piper says he has a philosophy about hanging about with people that may ruffle the theological feathers of other friends of Piper but pleads to those comrades to allow for a difference of opinion on this without their breaking fellowship with him over his newest friend! In all of this nothing has come to the fore about Warren's monergistic understanding of regeneration. All I can discern from Piper's presentation of Warren's doctrinal statement is that the California pastor is not sold on total depravity,and has hang-ups about atonement, which Piper, incidently believes he can straighten out in a thirty minute encounter with Warren. But despite the confusing manner of appropriating mankind's lost condition, and the even more convoluted approach to the Savior's substitutionary solution in Warren's thinking, Piper affirms that Rick Warren is Biblical. I am no fan of Rick Warren's approach to ministry. I have read the Purpose Driven Church to see exactly what the man proposes. Baseball diamonds and marketing strategies abound in his method and clearly outweigh serious exegesis.
More frightening is the evidence of Warren's cult-like status as he encourages people to have a mini-all-inclusive discipleship experience, which is made a matter of supreme importance by the fact that it is Warren himself that will teach it. The rallying call goes something like this: "Let's get 3000 saved in one day so we can repeat Pentecost!" This smacks of a hubris unbecoming to a gospel minister. The day I want people to come to church so they can hear me specifically, is the day I am no longer of use to the church. Come to think of it, Piper is sounding a little like this to me as well these days. This was particularly evident in the matter of his assured conviction that Piper could persuade Warren on the doctrine of the atonement in thirty minutes. Maybe he is so enthusiastic about the atonement that all he meant was that he could present a fair case for the atonement in that half hour period, but my suspicions are that he was saying something to the effect of: "sure you have exegetical difficulties with limited atonement, I'll set you straight on it!" You listen to him and judge for yourself!
Finally, many seek to emulate their ministries by looking to such men as Piper and Warren. Up till now, they were representatives of two diverse ways of doing church. It may be that in days ahead we will not see an alternative between Warren and Piper but a walking hand in hand of the Warren/Piper approach. What will we call such a thing? Purpose Driven Hedonism or Desiring 40 Days of Purpose?
" It may be that in days ahead we will not see an alternative between Warren and Piper but a walking hand in hand of the Warren/Piper approach. What will we call such a thing? Purpose Driven Hedonism or Desiring 40 Days of Purpose?"
Have they not been walking hand in hand for a long time?
Very well stated! I suspect it also has to do with the sin of ingenuity of which you wrote about two weeks ago. This is sad news in particular because of the influence Dr. Piper has had upon Fundamentalists beginning to come to the Reformed faith. Also the Reformed community which was just beginning to warm up to Piper, will likely shut down. But as God has said, He will not share His glory with another, and perhaps people have been attributing too much glory to a man for that which the Holy Spirit alone deserves credit.
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4/2/10 2:47 PM
